Monomers and prepolymers may be polymerized to make a variety of products. In some cases, it may be desirable to provide a polymer material having proton conductivity.
Many fuel cells are provided with an electrolyte layer that is sandwiched between an anode and a cathode, the assembly being known as a membrane-electrode assembly (MEA). In a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell, the electrolyte layer generally comprises a proton conducting solid phase polymer electrolyte and is often called an ion-exchange membrane or a proton exchange membrane. These polymer membranes are designed with the goal of accomplishing several functions that contribute to the overall operation of a PEM fuel cell, such as providing a conductive pathway for protons to migrate from the anode to the cathode, providing an electrical insulator between the anode and the cathode, and providing a gas impermeable layer that keeps the reactant gases separate and concentrated at their respective electrodes, to name but a few. Furthermore, the types of electrolytes associated with PEM fuel cells may be incorporated into direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC) due to similar operating conditions.